New features for Chrome on your mobile

The mobile device has become such a large part of many people’s lives that it is often hard to ignore. One of the most popular uses for the phone has to be browsing the Web. Many people use Google’s Chrome browser largely because it’s the browser they use on their desktop. The mobile version of Chrome has recently been updated with a few new features which users on different platforms can enjoy.

Here is an overview of the three new changes introduced in the iOS and Android versions of Chrome.

Chrome for iOS

The first new feature Google recently announced is Translate for Chrome on Apple devices – the iPad and iPhone. This feature has been a part of the desktop version of Chrome for a while now, and is an in-demand feature for mobile users.

As with the desktop version, when you visit a website that is in a language other than your main language, you will now see a white bar in the browser window asking if you would like the page to be translated. If you click on Translate, Chrome will refresh the page with a translation.

This is a great feature for users who often visit other countries where another language is spoken. It is also a beneficial tool for business owners who are researching companies or products in other regions. Essentially, it makes many more websites accessible while you are on the go.

Chrome for Android

Two new features recently announced for Chrome on Android devices are data compression and application shortcuts.

Data compression for Chrome

Many mobile users have data plans for their phones and tablets. While these packages are great at allowing us to connect to the Internet from nearly anywhere, many plans limit the amount of data. If this sounds like the plan you have then this means that you might need to be careful with how much browsing you are doing on your phone lest you run out of data.

While browsing the Internet on your device isn’t the biggest drain on data, it can add up. To address this Google has recently introduced the data compression and bandwidth management feature. According to Google, this could reduce data use by as much as 50%. When you enable this feature Safe Browsing will also be enabled which can help protect devices from malicious software and codes.

The data compression feature can be enabled if you update Chrome to the latest version – which can be done via Google Play. You can then enable the feature by:

Opening Chrome and tapping on the three vertical squares at the top-right of the window.

Selecting Settings followed by Bandwidth management.

Tapping on Reduce data usage and sliding the tab at the top to On.

You will be able to track how much data Chrome is using and how much data is being saved.

Add application shortcuts to your homescreen

If you have a website that you visit on a regular basis it can be somewhat of a hindrance to always open Chrome followed by your bookmarks and then wait for the site to load. There is a new feature in Chrome that allows you to save websites as shortcuts on your Android device’s homescreen.

If you navigate to a website that you would like to have quicker access to, press the three vertical boxes at the top-right of the screen and select Add to homescreen. This will add the link to your homescreen, often taking the image beside the tab as the icon. Tapping on this will open Chrome and the website.

Learn more about the different versions of Chrome. Contact us today for a chat.

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